Ambassador Churkin Dies

Churkin in action at the UN Security Council (UN photo for education only)

Vitaly Churkin, Russian amnassador to the UN, president of the UN Security Council, 3 June 2014, New York (UN Photo/Paulo Filgueiras)

(WEBPUBLICAPRESS) New York - The Russian ambassador to the United Nations, Vitaly Ivanovich Churkin, died suddenly in New York on Monday morning the Russian Foreign Ministry reported.

The news of Mr. Churkin’s death came as a shock for UN reporters gathered at the daily press briefing. Deputy UN Spokesperson Farhan Haq was advised by the Egyptian UN correspondent Ahmed Fathi of American TV News about the breaking news. Haq seemed pretty shaken but quickly collected himself and spoke words of condolence and sympathy to the Churkin family and Russian government.

Mr. Chrkin was 64 and died one day before his 65th birthday. He was rushed to New York hospital Monday morning (20 February) after not feeling well, and apparently died of heart attack. No official report of the cause of death was released yet.

Matthew Rycroft, the British ambassador to the UN, on his Twitter account said he was “devastated” and called Churkin’s deah the loss of a “diplomatic giant.”

Many other UN diplomats and journalist morned in their way.

Former US ambassador to UN Samantha Power that is memorable for the frequent diplomatic row with Churkin in the UN Security Council over Syria and Ukraine and most of all, also expressed his sorrow for the unexpected departure of former colleagues.

“Devastated by passing of Russian UN Amb Vitaly Churkin.Diplomatic maestro &deeply caring man who did all he could to bridge US-RUS differences”, Samantha Power wrote on her Twitter account.

And Moscow paid official tribute to their veteran diplomat: “The outstanding Russian diplomat died while he was in his current working role,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “We offer our condolences to the relatives of Vitaly Ivanovich Churkin.” Russians say their global known diplomat was working until his last moments in New York.

At the United Nations in New York he will be remembered most for his quick responses and original

Churkin in action at the UN Security Council (UN photo for education only)

comparisons. When Samantha Power, accused Russia of bearing responsibility for atrocities in Syria, Churkin asked her to look at the United States’ own track record.

“The weirdest speech to me was the one by the US representative who built her statement as if she is Mother Teresa herself. Please, remember which country you represent. Please, remember the track record of your country, ” Churkin said.

Churkin will be memorize even by those who disagreed with him because of his mostly West opposing views. His sharp tongue often beyond diplomatic jargon, but arguments nevertheless — produced compliments for his brilliant diplomatic skills will be remembered by many in the UN.

But, among other things, in July 2015, Mr. Churkin, criticized by many – vetoed the passing of the Security Council resolution on Srebrenica. This UN resolution intended to once again reaffirm the fact – genocide did take place in this Bosnian town — as set in the verdicts of the ICTY (International Criminal Cort for Former Yugoslavia). In July 1995, Serbs’ army forces, only for a few days killed more than 8,000 Bosnian Muslim boys and men in Srebrenica.